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* SUMMARY PBOCEEDINGS. 694 SUMNER. if they deem it expedient to do so. Most of the State coustitutions also secure the right to trial by jury in all important cases. However, for the speedy administration of justice in trivial cases, both civil and criminal, the statutes of nearly all the States provide for the determination by sum- mary proceedings of such petty misdemeanors as the violation of municipal ordinances as to fast driving, etc., disorderly conduct, and other minor offenses. Certain proceedings for the ejectment of ten- ants arc also known as summary proceedings in some States. See Jury; Teiai,. SUMMER. A principal horizontal beam. The term, which is found in old English architecture, applies to a chief beam of a floor, or what is ordinarily termed a girder. When a summer is used to support a wall or other superstructure, as in the front of a building, it is Icnown as a breast summer (q.v. ). Summer is also used to denote a stone at the top of a pier or of a wall where an arch, lintel, or other work is supported. SUMMER DUCK. The wood duck (q.v.). SUMMER REDBIRD, or TANAGER. See Tanager. SUM'MERS, Thomas Osmund (1812-82). A clerical author of the Southern Methodist Church. He was born at Corfe Castle, Isle of Purbeck, Dorsetshire, came to America in 1830, and joined the Baltimore Conference (1835). He was missionary to the Republic of Texas ( 1840), and was one of the nine preachers who formed the Texas Conference. He was transferred to the Alabama Conference (1843); was secretary of the Louisville convention where the Jlethodist Episcopal Church South was organized; subse- quently he was secretary of every General Con- ference of his Church until his death. He was assistant editor of the Southern Christian Advo- cate (Charleston, 1846), removing to Nashville (1855) ; was elected general book editor (1845), serving until his death, and editing nearly all of the publications of the denomination. He founded the Sunday School Visitor and edited it for four years; he edited the Quarterly Review nine years. He was professor of systematic theology in Van- derbilt University and dean of the theological faculty (1872-82); and was chairman of the committee which prepared a revised edition of the hymn-book of his Church. He wrote numer- ous works, including a commentary in six vol- imies on the Gospels, Acts, and Romans (1868- 74); Baptism, a Treatise (1853); Biographi- cal Sketches of Eminent Ministers (1858) ; Sun- day Service of the M. E. Church South (1867) ; Systematic Theology, edited by Tigert (1888). For his life, consult Fitzgerald (Nashville, 1884). SUMMER SCHOOL. The name applied either to institutions the sole purpose of which is the giving of instruction during the summer months, or to the summer sessions of any in- stitutions of learning. Some universities in the United States frequently select from their regu- lar programmes siich subjects as will be suitable, and offer courses during the summer months. The successful completion of summer school courses gives credit toward the degrees of the institution at which they are 'taken. Other sum- mer schools exist independently, usually at some situation favorable for summer resort. Such are the schools at Chautauqua, N. Y.. at Martha's Vineyard, etc. Conditions of admission are either not required or are not severe. Certificates are given for work done, and frequently such w'ork is allowed to count toward college degrees. SUM'MERSON, Esther. The heroine of Dickens's Bleak House, the natural daughter of Lady Dedlock and Captain Hawdon, and ward of Mr. Jarndyce. She marries Allan Woodcourt, a surgeon. SUMMER YELLOWBIRD. See Warbleb. SUMMIT. A city in Union County, N. J., 12 miles west of Newark; on the Morris and Essex division of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (Map: New Jersey, D 2). It is attractive because of its elevation and the beauty of its scenery and is largely inhabited by New York business men. It has a Fresh Air and Convalescent Home and the Arthur Home for Orphans. There is a silk factory with sev- eral hundred hands. Population, in 1890, 3502; in 1900, 5302. SUMMONS (OF. semonse, Fr. semonce, sum- mons, admonition, fem. sg. of p.p. of OF. semoner, somoncr, semondre, Fr. semondre, to summon, from Lat. submonere, to remind secretly, from Siw6, under + monere, to warn). A writ or process by which a defendant is notified to ap- pear in court and answer the cause of action al- leged in the plaintiff's complaint or declaration. It has superseded the original merits for the pur- pose of beginning an action in England and most of the United States. In the absence of statu- tory provisions to the contrary, a summons must be signed by the clerk of the court in which the action is brought, but under the codes it is usually signed by the plaintiff's attorney. For method of service, see Service of Papers. See also Procedure ; Writ. SUMMUM BONUM. See Ethics. SUM'NER, Charles (1811-74). An American statesman. He was born in Boston, Jan. 6, 1811; graduated at Harvard in 1830; entered the Har- vard Law School the following year, and was admitted to the bar in 1834. Throughout his early years he maintained an extraordinary lit- erary activity, writing chiefly upon legal topics, and occasionally appearing on the platform. His strength becoming overtaxed from the labor of editing an American edition of Vesey's Re- ports, he sailed for Europe in 1837, where he traveled for three years, devoting much of his time to the study of languages, literature, and history. Returning to America in 1840. he be- gan to take an active interest in the anti-slavery movement, and in 1845 he delivered a notable Fourth of July oration at Boston, on "The True Grandeur of Nations," which Cobden pronounced "the noblest contribution ever made by any mod- ern writer to the cause of peace," but it gave of- fense to the leaders of the Whig Party and led eventually to his withdrawal from that party. This oration was soon followed by others of great force, mainly on anti-slavery topics. He was a leader of the 'Conscience Whigs' of Massa- chusetts, who helped to form the Free-Soil Party. In 1851. through a combination of Free- Soilers and Democrats, he was elected to the United States Senate, of which body he was a member until his death. Here he w'aged a vig- orous and uncompromising war on slavery. His first 'mportant speech was entitled "Freedom National, Slavery Sectional." This was followed